Camera weenies can argue until they drop about subjective qualities like bokeh yumminess or ergonomics. For the folks who like to stick with numbers, however, there’s software maker and testing titan DxOMark, which recently declared the Zeiss 55mm FE the best autofocus lens it’s ever tested. Read more…

The usual warnings apply:

Ever since we here at LensRentals first tested a Sony A7R, we were dying to take a look under the hood. Say what you will about Sony as a company, but they create some of the most elegantly-engineered camera bodies we’ve seen. Plus, the A7R is something of a groundbreaking camera, and we wanted to see how they crammed all that stuff into its little body.

Oh, and finally, we’ve wanted a closer look at how thick the cover glass over the A7R’s sensor is, since there is some evidence that it may affect the edge performance of certain adapted lenses. Read more…

For those intrigued by the notion of add-on lenses for smartphones but put off by the bulky design, Apple offers hope with a couple of recently patented designs for swapping camera components on an iPhone without turning it into an unwieldy monster. Read more…

One of the things you kind of take for granted with a digital camera sensor is that every pixel is the same size, but Fujifilm may turn that idea on its head with a new RGBW sensor design that uses bigger pixels for white and green frequencies. Read more…

The filmmakers behind a BBC nature show got more than they bargained for when they came up with the idea of encasing a video camera in a fake egg to gather surreptitious footage of a penguin colony on the Falkland Islands. Read more…

I’m a big fan of the UK car show TopGear, but I never thought I’d see the day when the worlds of TopGear and photography would intersect. Fortunately, I have been proven wrong. So sit back and enjoy as TopGear’s Captain Slow James May goes into detail about how digital cameras actually work. Read more…

A couple of days ago we shared Adam Magyar’s incredible Stainless video series, shot from a moving subway train using a customized slow-motion video camera that captures something truly mesmerizing to watch. After sharing those videos, many of the commenters asked for and linked away to more details about the camera he used, and the slit-scan photography that Magyar had been doing for many years.

The video above is for those people who love Magyar’s work and want to know the technical detail behind it, but don’t want to dig through and read the detailed interviews and descriptions of the gear he uses — a 20 minute presentation for PopTech in which Magyar talks about the purpose of his projects, the technology used to capture them, and the myriad challenges he’s run into (e.g. the police…) over the years.

If you have the time and you found Magyar’s photography fascinating, this video is well-worth 20 minutes of your day.

H/T SLR Lounge

Although it might not seem like much, the photo above might just be the most extraordinary image you have ever seen. Not because of crazy high megapixel count or amazing composition or even subject matter — we’ve seen images of planets orbiting stars before — but because it is the first ever image of a planet and its star over 63 light years away. Read more…

Admit it, you’ve always wanted walk around a rainforest hunting Arnold Schwarzenegger using your cool thermal vision and shoulder cannon, and now you can… sort of. While the shoulder cannon is still pending, and your chances of getting Mr. Schwarzenegger to a rainforest of your choosing are slim, a new smartphone case dubbed the FLIR ONE will turn your iPhone into an awesome thermal camera of your own. Read more…

Unfortunately, what with major changes at the helm and making sure that we hit 2014 running, we weren’t able to make it to Vegas for CES this year. And I say unfortunately because, not only does it mean we’ll have to wait a minute to get hands on with some of the new releases, but it also meant missing cool demonstrations like the ones you see above.

The video was filmed by Stan Horaczek over at Popular Photography and it shows the demos that Canon is currently running on the showroom floor to tempt CES attendees over to its booth. Read more…